Methods and devices for routing traffic using a configurable access wireless network

Abstract

A configurable access network (CAN) architecture is used to identify primary routing paths that allows each wireless station within a static, multi-hop wireless CAN to route packetized data in a way that simplifies the operation of each station and makes more efficient use of the limited energy available to each station.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] Wireless stations (e.g., wireless laptop computers) in a static, multi-hop wireless network receive and transmit information referred to as packets of data. Upon receiving a packet, a station must determine how and where to route the packet. That is, each station determines whether the packet needs to be forwarded to a next wireless station and, if so, the station must determine the identity of the next station, etc. There are various routing techniques in existence. However, many of them are complex and require a station to perform multiple tasks and take up significant overhead, all of which use some part of the limited battery power / energy (collectively “energy”) available to a station. [0002] Energy considerations are almost always important. However, in static, multi-hop wireless networks, they are very important. In such networks, packets from a source wireless station (i.e., source of a packet or message) may need to be routed through many i...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008] We have recognized that CANs may be utilized to provide simplified wireless stations and to maximize the lifetime of static, multi-hop wireless networks by implementing routing techniques that route packets along primary routing paths (“primary paths”) that are used most often within the network. Identifying these primary paths is a complex problem which requires the generation of so-called “fractional routing” and “integral routing” solutions, the latter being ultimately used to identify the primary paths.

[0011] After each primary path is identified, it is transferred to its respective wireless station. By using the so-identified paths to route traffic, the operation of each station is simplified (and so may be its design) and the amount of energy required by each station is reduced as compared with conventional stations in a multi-hop wireless network.

Problems solved by technology

However, many of them are complex and require a station to perform multiple tasks and take up significant overhead, all of which use some part of the limited battery power / energy (collectively “energy”) available to a station.

If one of the stations along the path the packets must travel fails because it runs out of available energy (i.e., its batteries run down), the packets cannot be relayed through that station.

In general, the more complex the routing technique, the more energy needed to implement such a technique.

To implement such a routing technique within each wireless station, which is the norm for multi-hop wireless networks, requires complex processing.

In effect, this means that each wireless station in the network must maintain a complex software or firmware program associated with the routing technique which, when executed, takes up large amounts of computational time and energy.

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